Safety attachment for horse-blankets, lap-robes, &amp;c.



No.'886,511. PATENTED MAY 5, 19-08.

J. E. HUNTER.

SAFETY ATTACHMENT FOR HORSE BLANKETS, LA'P ROBES, &o APPLIOAT ION FILEDAPR.15,1905.

Witnesses I V Attorn'eys y" ms mmms Fgrtns co., wAsmncron, n. c

JOHN E. HUNTER, OF LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY.

SAFETY ATTACHMENT FOR HORSE-BLANKETS, LAP-ROBES, &c.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 5, 1908.

Application filed April 15, 1905. Serial No. 255,775.

.To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN E. HUNTER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Lexington, in the county of Fayette and State of Kentucky,have invented a new and useful Safety Attachment for Horse-Blankets,Lap- Robes, &c., of which the following is a specification. Y

Ordinarily, horse blankets and the like when placed upon a horse are notconnected thereto so as to prevent unauthorized removal, and itfrequently happens that such blankets are stolen, and therefore it is anobject of the present invention to provide for securing a blanket upon ahorse in a simple and improved manner either by connecting the oppositeedges of the blanket or by connecting the blanket directly to theharness according to whether or not the harness is in place upon theanimal.

Another object of the invention is to guard against having the blankettorn fromits fastening or otherwise damaged in an unauthorized attemptto remove the blanket while at the same time to enable the convenientauthorized fastening and unfastening of the blanket withoutdisconnecting any of the parts of the harness.

With these and other objects in view, the present invention consists inthe combination and arrangement of parts as will be hereinafter morefully described, shownin the accompanying drawing and particularlypointed out in the appended claims, it being understood that changes inthe form, propor-- tion, size and minor details may be made, within thescope of the claims, without departing from the spirit or sacrificingany of the advantages of the invention.

In the accompanying drawing :Figure 1 is a side elevation illustratingthe blanket of the present invention applied to a horse and securedthereto independently of the harness. Fig. 2 is a detail inverted planview of the blanket. Fig. 1) is a fragmentary cross sectional view ofthe blanket secured to one of the terret rings of a harness. Fig. 4 isan enlarged detail cross sectional view taken through the blanket andone of the braces or guards therefor.

Like characters of reference designate corresponding parts in each andevery figure of the drawing.

In describing the present invention, reference will be had at first moreparticularly to Fig. 2 of the drawing wherein 1 designates any ordinaryor preferred form of horse blanket which is reinforced by a pair ofguard members, preferably chains designated 2 and 3 respectively, whichcross one another at substantially right angles at about the middle ofthe blanket. Each chain is contained within a casing or sheath 4 ofcanvas, leather, material of the same character as the blanket or anypreferred material, the edges of which are connected by one or more rowsof stitches 5, and said stitches are also employed to connect the casingto the blanket. The guard members 2 and 3 are preferably located uponthe inner or under side of the blanket and for this reason are incasedto prevent annoyance to the horse and in order that the chain may not beexposed to the external air. At suitable intervals each chain isconnected to the blanket by means of a metallic clip 6 in the nature ofa staple which passes through the blanket and the casing and has itsopposite ends intertwisted to effectively connect the chains to theblanket in a simple and convenient manner.

At the front end of the blanket there is a guard chain 7 containedwithin a casing 8 and secured to the extreme front edge of the blanketin the same manner as described for the chains 2 and 3, this chain 7 andthe adj acent chain 2 of course being connected. The ends of the chain 7project beyond the casing 8, one projected end of the chain beingprovided with one or more rings 9 and there being a padlock 10 havingits shackle engaged with the opposite end of the chain.

When the blanket is placed upon a horse which is not harnessed, as shownin Fig. 1 of the drawing, the ends of the chain 7 are brought togetherbeneath the neck of the horse and secured by the padlock 10, whereby theblanket is fastened against accidental displacement and also againstunauthorized removal. The lock being connected to the chain 7 and thechain 7 being connected to the adjacent chain 2, it is impossible totear the lock and the chains from the blanket, and even if this werepossible the blanket would be damaged to such an extent as to be of nouse.

If the horse is harnessed and it is desired to secure the blanket to theharness, the lock 10 is removed from the chain 7 and employed to lockthe ring 11 suitably connected to the chain 2, to one of the terretrings 12 as shown in Fig. 3 of the drawing, wherefore the blanket isconveniently and effectively connected to the harness to guard againstunauthorized removal thereof.

In Fig. 3 of the drawing, the ring 11 has been shown attached to thechain 3, while in Fig; 2 it has been shown attached to the chain 2,either of which locations may be em loyed with equal facility.

While it is preferred to have the lock 10 removable in order that it maybe employed in connection with the chain 7 or with the ring 11, thislock 10 may be permanently attached to the chain 7 and another lock usedto fasten the ring 11 to the harness.

From the foregoing description, it will be understood that the guardsand fastening devices of the present invention may be a plied to anyordinary or preferred form of b anket without in any manner changing thelatter and it is, of course, proposed to locate the said members at themost advantageous oints according to the size and shape of the blanket.By employing chains to form the guards, the blanket may be folded intocomact form when not in use, and when the blanket is upon a horse theguard chains do not annoy the animal while at the same time they preventtearing of the blanket from its fastenings and also prevent cutting ofthe blanket from its fastenings without entirely destroying the same,wherefore the unauhorse when temporarily thrown over the latter to servein the capacity of a blanket.

It will be observed from an inspection of the drawing that thelongitudinal chain 2, the transverse chain 3 and the front chain 7 areall provided with two separated sheaths and that the ends of saidsheaths adjacent the points of connection between said chains areseparated from each other so as to leave free spaces upon the chains.vThis arrangement produces an economical construction.

disposed longitudinal chain extending from end to end of the blanket, acentrally disposed transverse chain extending from side to side of theblanket, a short chain at one end of said blanket connected mid-way toone end of said longitudinal chain, a sheath for each chain made offlexible material wholly surrounding said chain, the edges of thesheathing material being oined together and to said blanket bystitching, additional metallic fastenings passing at intervals throughthe blanket, chain links and sheath, and an int'erengaging lockingdevice on each end of said short chain.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto affixedmy signature in the presence of two witnesses.

JOHN E. HUNTER.

Witnesses:

W. T. DINWIDDIE, OBED CooLEY.

